The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-30

without diff1cuIty, In my JudgnenL IL appears
that he she inspector Of the Fourth ward;
that no brought in his papers and presented
them to the board, and they were handed back to
him under the alleged reason that the certifi.
cate was defective, and for him TO go and get il
corrected He seems to have remained about all
day and until late in the night, doing nothing to
correct his certificate. and in the meantime ne
had filled up that he was somewhat stupid
ana sleepy; about or O'CLOCK IN the
morning his papers were again present TED 70 the
board, and found to have been chaged he de-
MES that he changed them. Every body denies
having anything to do with it; but they are
changed in the same manner that
the other papers changed NOW,
the most suspicious circumstance against
Mr. Counselman, aside from the fact that his
papers are changed-a very strong fact in itself.
though they might under the circumstances
which have been developed here, have been
changed without his knowledge-is the fact
that he sat around there all day and did not at
tempt to get his certificate corrected. If he
acting in good faith he ought to have done
that. And yet that might have been a mere
negligent omission on his part l leave his
to you TO and your sound judgment I will
press opinion neither one way the other,
nor intimation, far as able to contro
my language
gard to what occurred before that canvassing
board. We have seven sets of altered papers
that to be gotten through that board. Some
body altered them; they did not alter them
Selves they did not work themselves through
that board; somebody is responsible for their
getting through that board. Is the whole board
there of intending to put these papers through
That is a conclusion that you would reach with
the greatest reluctance, and only from the most
convincing proof Did they get through with
out any body having any guilty purpose in that
connection By force of parliamentary rules2 DID
parliamentary rules get possession of that can
vassiug board and control it against its will
and against the will of every individual
there2 Or did some individuals avail themselves
of parliamentary rules. to push these papers
through That is a question of fact you must con-
slider Now then, shortly after or about the time
that that board bed, 1t found that two or
three of the inspectors had not their papers, anu
they adopted a resolution that N such cases they
would send down and get the tally sheets out OF
the bag from the clerks Office. In the course OF
the discussion that rule has been treated as con
tanning the word ''ony.n The resolution st first
was that in where the inspector had not
his papers, they would send down to the clerks
office; in the argument that rule is put in this
shape: That they would send down TO the
clerks office only when there were no
sheets present. In other words, that res
oluton not only affected the cases where there
were taly-sheets present, but used to
control tie action Of the board with regard to
other cases. 1t is for you to determine which
wav that rule was. and as TO what force 1t ought
to have had. Later on. but early in the meeting
of the board. rule was adopted that where there
dscrepancy-and this rule Is quite I'M
portant in its bearngs-in the tallysheets and
the other papers, the poll-lst and certificate, the
tally-sheet should govern. Now suppose. gen
tlemen, that you had gotten up these forgeries
and were undertaking to get them through the
board, could you have devised anything better
to accomplish that purpose than to get such
rule adopted That rule was utterly unlawful;
it SO uarely in the teeth of the statute which
in plain terms prescribes different rule
And instead of the chairman of that meeting
having decided other motions and resolutions
out of order account of that rule he ought
to have declared that rule out of order and I'M
lawful. What does the statute say? the in
spectors of each township or precinct. or the
Judges of election to whom the certificates, poll
books and Wallpapers shall nave been deliv-
cred, provided for in this act, shall constitute
a board of canvassers, who shall canvass and
estimate the certificates, poll-llsts and tally
papers mot one of them but all of them re-
turned by each member of said board; for
which purpose they shall assemble, ETC.
Further, Section 4717 of the Revised Statutes OF
Indiana says: such board, when organized
shall carefully compare and examine the pa
pers intrusted to 1.-THE papers Entrusted tc
il; that Is, the certificate, poll-list and tally
shcet-not one, but all three OF them-'and
aggregate and tabulate from them"-from
them; that is. from all three OF them-'the
Now them any resolution by which the board
declared that it would not do that-that 1t would
look to the tally sheet alone because that Is the
practical meaning of the resolution]-was illegal.
All com parsons entirely Ymmaterlai II you
declare beforehand that you are going BY the
tally sheets: you see at once, gentlemen, that
that resolution plainly inconsistent with the
statute But it is argued in support of the reso-
luton that the tally sheet the best authori-~
ty; that it the original entry. like day
book or journal, which, 1t has been said. Is bet
ter authority than the ledger. The Legislature
has given some indication to what 1t thought
on tina. subject: '.But when the votes shall be
the board of judges shall make out a GER
tificate, under their hands, stating the number
of votes each person has received and desienat-
ing the Office, which number shall be written In
words: and such certificate. together with one OF
the lists of voters and one of the taly-papers,
shall be deposited with the inspectors"
You have seen the tally-sheet and have seen
these papers. 1t is very easy to scratch in an
two three or four tallles opposite
any name; and hence that provision is made by
The Legislature the certificate shall be made
put as soon the taliy-sheets are completed;
hat they shall be made out on the spot by the
board. and that that they shall write the num-
per of votes received by each candidate in
words so that you cannot, by merely scratching
n straight lines add to the number. Now,
when the board of canvassers come to canvass
The returns it is their duty to look at all these
papers. if there arise some suspicion abont any
# them. Here tally-sheets that on their
ACE appear to be forged; it is q fact publicly
bounced in the room. that they wereforged: and
vet the presiding officer of that board and
entlemen backing him up, say that they con-
idered themselves bound by that rule that had
istent with their duty-not to look any further
han the tally-sheets. 1t would have
een seen at once by looking at the certificate
THAT the truth was about those votes. And tho
oll-list is important, too, or might be In a con.
eivable case. because the poll-list contains the
ames of the voters and their number If 800
non vote at the polls there are names down to
he number of 300. Now, suppose you look at
be votes for the candidates for single Office,
or criminal judge; one of them has 125, and the
Their $50; there are five votes too many, as that
7ould make 305 votes with only 800 names on
be poll-hst. There would be proof that the
ally sheet was irregular or had been tempered
nth. Then it would be proper, In all such
asses, to look at the certificate and poll book,
nd get the truth from ali the papers. And any
ule that cut the board off from doing that was
tterly inconsistent with the law. 1t is not COM
etent for board to abrogate the law under
which they authorized and required to act.
Now, then, the question is, whether these OH
ers and Mr. Spaan who was there advising,
,hether Mr.. Bernhamer and Mr.. Span acted in
God faith in this matter, and it is for you to
onsider under the circumstances whether they
Id act in good faith in pretending that they
ere bound by such rule and could not look to
10 other paper.
Another consideration in this connection: Was
possible that these forgerles could be gotten
lrough and tabulated in the final result without
le cooperation of the managing officers of that